Ever felt butterflies in your stomach before a big event or experienced a stomach ache when you’re under a deadline, or about to do something scary?
This isn’t just in your head; it’s a real thing called the gut-brain connection. It means that every emotion you feel is also tied directly to your gut.
Because of this, let us show you how keeping a journal can help manage your feelings and improve your gut health!
What is the Enteric Nervous System?
Think about your first kiss, or when you had a heartbreak. Or a time when you have received bad news.
You felt it in your stomach, right? It was like it was tied in knots or felt like your stomach dropped. We even have a term for it: gut punch.
Your gut has its own nervous system, known as the enteric nervous system (ENS). This network of nerves runs along your digestive tract (from your esophagus all the way to your colon) and helps control digestion. It’s also attached to your central nervous system, and they work together to create harmony in your body.
But that’s not all—the ENS also responds to your emotions, which is why your stomach reacts when you’re happy, anxious, or stressed. This is also why the enteric nervous system is also called the “second brain.“
The Gut-Brain Connection
The connection between your gut and brain is powerful. When you feel stressed or upset, your brain sends signals to your gut to pause on digestion so the body can handle the present stressor.
If you experience a lot of these stressors, your digestive tract is hampered, even if you’re back eating again after the stressor. This is how stress can cause gut issues like inflammation, bloating, or discomfort.
This relationship also works the other way, too; problems in your gut can send signals to the brain, leading to mood changes or increased stress.
IBS and the Mind-Body Link
Recent studies have shown that conditions like Irritable Bowel Syndrome (IBS) are not actual gut disorders, but are closely linked to the nervous system.
Experts now see IBS as a mind-body issue, where both your mental state and physical health in your gut are connected. This means managing stress and emotions can directly impact your gut health!
How Journaling Helps
Journaling is a fantastic way to manage stress and tune into your body’s signals. Here’s how it can help with gut health:
- Reduces Stress: Writing down your thoughts and feelings can help clear your mind and reduce stress, which can calm your gut reactions.
- Increases Awareness: Keeping a daily journal allows you to track what triggers your gut issues. You might find patterns that connect your emotions to how your stomach feels.
- Encourages Mindful Eating: By noting down what you eat and how it makes you feel, journaling can promote mindful eating. This awareness can improve your digestion and reduce symptoms like bloating.
Journaling is more than just a way to record your day or showcase gratitude—it’s a tool that can help manage the health of both your mind and gut.
By understanding and respecting the deep connection between your emotions and your digestive system, you can use journaling to foster both mental and gut health, leading to a happier, less bloated life.
Let’s go a little deeper.
How Journaling Reduces Stress
Journaling goes beyond being a creative outlet—it’s a powerful tool for health. By engaging both hemispheres of your brain, journaling helps you make connections that might not be immediately obvious, serving as a stress reducer and a form of therapeutic activity.
Additionally, but utilizing both hemispheres of your brain, you begin to bring your brain back online from the limbic system hijack that happens when you’re feeling threatened or upset.
Writing in a journal can act as a form of stress relief. It allows you to express your thoughts and emotions on paper, which helps to clear the mind and lower stress levels.
This process is beneficial because when you write down what bothers you, the brain processes these thoughts through a different pathway, often leading to a new perspective and a decrease in anxiety.
This reduction in stress directly impacts the gut, often easing symptoms like bloating and discomfort.
Increasing Awareness Through Journaling
Journaling increases self-awareness by helping you to track your daily activities, thoughts, and feelings. It forces you to pay attention to details that you might overlook otherwise. For instance, you might start to notice patterns between what you ate and how you felt afterwards, or how certain stressful events affect your digestion.
This awareness can prompt changes that have a positive impact on both your mental and physical health.
Encouraging Mindful Eating
Journaling about your meals encourages mindful eating. By recording what you eat, when you eat, and how you feel afterwards, you become more attuned to the needs of your body and the effects of different foods on your gut.
This practice can lead you to make better food choices, improve digestion, and reduce gastrointestinal distress.
Journaling as a Connection Tool
The act of writing engages both the logical (left hemisphere) and the creative (right hemisphere) sides of the brain. This full-brain engagement helps in making connections that aren’t immediately evident.
For example, you might not realize that anxiety impacts your eating habits until you see a pattern of stress eating emerge in your journal.
Proven Benefits of Journaling
Research supports journaling as an effective therapy for reducing stress and managing symptoms of trauma. It provides a safe space to express emotions, process experiences, and manage anxiety, all of which contribute to overall wellness.
For individuals dealing with conditions like IBS, where stress and emotions can exacerbate symptoms, journaling can be particularly beneficial.
Integrating journaling into your daily routine could be a key strategy in managing gut health, particularly for those suffering from stress-related digestive issues. It’s more than just writing; it’s a form of self-care that nurtures both mind and gut, leading to a more balanced life.
Start with just five minutes of journaling each day. You don’t have to write about gratitude. You can note your meals, your mood, and any physical sensations. You can write about a future you that you’d like to become. You can write your worries, your fears, and your sadnesses onto a page so that you have a witness for your pain.
Over time, this simple practice could lead to profound insights and significant improvements in your digestive health and overall wellbeing.
